CHARLEROI, Pennsylvania — It is a recurring story in western Pennsylvania: A company is bought out, the investors want to consolidate or restructure, and the collateral damage is always the cost suffered by the families who depend on those jobs, the communities that will lose their most valued treasure, their people, and the overall sense of loss felt all over the block.

Last week, Anchor Hocking, a subsidiary of Correll Brands, announced it was closing the plant that has been a fixture in the community for over 100 years, with many families having four and five generations who have worked in their factory.